At the present time, there are a multitude of commercial products available for controlling and/or exterminating insects in the home and garden. The majority of these products use chemically based insecticide agents that act as toxins and or nerve agents against insects. These toxin based insect controls are very effective for the control of insect pests, but they typically have serious, and undesirable environmental side effects. These insecticides are often toxic to non-targeted organisms including children, pets, birds, bees and other non-target animals. These adverse environmental side effects are typically referred to as “overkill”.
In recent years many consumers have become increasingly environmentally conscious and aware of the undesirable side effects of using chemical toxin based insect controls. As a result of this awareness, a growing demand has emerged for insect control products that do not have these “overkill” side effects. One type of widely used “mechanical”, non-toxic means for insect trapping and repelling are tacky compounds that are spot applied for use as barrier and or trapping substance for insects. These tacky substances are either directly applied to surfaces or come applied to some sort of disposable media, such as flypaper, barrier tape or glue-boards.
Some widely used products for crawling insect control are non-toxic, tacky compounds and or non-drying adhesives known by the trade name Tangle-foot®, Tackem™ or Stickem™. These products are typically used outdoors as an insect barrier or trapping media for protecting plants, trees, picnic tables, etc. from crawling insect pests. These insect barrier and trapping products are said to work “mechanically” as they present a tacky substance that insects will avoid crossing over or which they become trapped in. They do not act as chemically toxic agents and are therefore considered generally environmentally safe to use. There are many other commercially produced “tacky” compounds or non-drying adhesive formulations products that are sold to be used as barriers and or trapping media for the control of crawling insects. These tacky compound barrier products do not typically act as insecticides except in the cases where the crawling insects are trapped because they cannot pull away from them. The products that trap and eventually kill insects indoors are typically applied to a disposable media as is done with flypaper and glue boards.
The tacky compounds and non-drying adhesives are locally effective, but that effectiveness is often limited because they do not typically kill insects and they are repeatedly challenged by insects that can eventually find a route past or over them. These tacky compounds are therefore usually applied in a very thick or heavy coating to prevent insect passage. Also, and in order to reduce this barrier challenging behavior, some non-drying insect control compounds use an incorporated repellent means. The use of repellent agents has limited effectiveness due to the volatilization and vapor dissipation that occurs with these compounds typically within a week or two after application. The insect barrier and trapping compounds are generally applied without any significant overkill effects as found with chemical insect controls, but since they have no direct insecticide effects, and often degrade or melt during very warm weather, they have to be regularly monitored and frequently reapplied.
In general, the difficulty in cleaning up these tacky compounds makes it impractical to use them for spot insect control except for outdoor applications. Typically for indoor applications these tacky compounds are supplied from the manufacturer pre-applied to some disposable media such as paper or plastic. The insect traps for indoor applications i.e. flypaper, glue boards and tacky tapes are generally made using non-drying adhesive formulations whose surface can be protected before they are used with low adhesion paper.
Another mechanical or non-chemical means of insect control is the surface application or dusting of a material known as diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic, inert material, made up of the microscopic skeletons of minute, one-celled plants called diatoms. These diatoms existed in vast numbers in the earth's seas approximately 300 million years ago. Diatomaceous earth is now mined from quarries and further processed through milling to be converted into a fine “talc” like powder. The milling process cracks apart the diatom skeletons, exposing very sharp, microscopic silica needle type structures. The diatomaceous earth (skeletons) are small and sharp enough to scratch through an insect's exoskeleton which is composed of a hard porous cover protected from the air by an oily or waxy seal. Once an insect exoskeleton is scratched through, the insect is subject to dehydration and eventual death. A related insecticide action of the diatomaceous earth is that if dusted directly on the insect pests it can get in between their exoskeleton joints where as the insect moves, the action of the joint movement causes their exoskeleton to get abraded. Diatomaceous earth is not hazardous to people, animals, birds or other non-insect organisms, except if the dust is inhaled during the application process. In fact, food grade diatomaceous earth is sold as a dietary supplement and is widely added to protect grain stores from insect infestation.
The usual insect controlling application of diatomaceous earth is by dusting the “talc” like material over an area where insect control is desired. This application is normally effective for a very limited time as the diatomaceous earth powder is washed away by rain or irrigation or simply gets sifted down below larger soil surface debris (mulch, aggregate, sand, loose soil particles, etc.). Additionally, since the diatomaceous earth is in the form of a very fine powder and not held in place, the effectiveness of the silica needles to scratch an insect exoskeleton is substantially reduced. The limited effectiveness of the insecticide action of diatomaceous earth can be improved if it is located directly next to an insect, trapping adhesive using a tape or other fixative mounting as is disclosed in my published patent application US 2004/0216367 A1. If the diatomaceous earth is close enough to the non-drying adhesive, the insects will scratch their exoskeleton against it by rubbing against it while making strenuous efforts to get free of the trapping adhesive.
The specific problem that the instant invention seeks to solve is that neither of the commonly used non-toxic insect control compounds (diatomaceous earth and non-drying adhesives) are particularly effective at killing or controlling insect pests. They are non-toxic to people, pets, birds and animals and unfortunately, most pest insects. The non-drying adhesives (tacky compounds) do not typically kill larger insects and ants are usually strong enough to pull away. The diatomaceous earth does not stay in place for very long and even when insects come into contact with it, they typically do not any strenuous efforts to rub it off Since the diatomaceous earth only works as an effective abrasive when combined with a rubbing force, it has a very limited insecticide effect. There is then, a real need for a “non-toxic” insect control compound that is much more effective at killing or deterring insects.